Finding Nature
by Green Lace
Summary: Ruby is the youngest child in the Mustang family. Her relationship with her parents is becoming strained as her rebellious teen years set in. Determined to find adventure, she runs away from home to explore the world she's long been sheltered from. Can a mysterious young alchemist help her find part of herself she lost long ago?


Hello! I've been thinking of writing something like this for awhile. Please excuse my terrible spelling and grammar, I'm always learning! I don't own anything from FMA. This story takes place in the future as it follows a child of Roy and Riza. I've read a good bit of the manga but honestly I am following Brotherhood as it is freshest in my mind.

(I added Roy and Riza to the character tags as they will be in later chapters)

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 **Chapter 1: Four days from sixteen.**

It was a slightly chilly night in late spring. The air was moist and alive with the sound of crickets, frogs and the occasional swoosh of a passing car through a puddle.

A young teen made her way down the street, her slender body clad in a heavy grey coat that was meant to hid her figure and her hood up to hide her pale face. Her dark ringlets brushed against her cheeks and her pale brown eyes scanned the street before her, protected by the shadow of the hood she wore.

As she stepped in puddles along the mostly empty sidewalk, she glanced behind her a handful of times to see if she had really slipped out unnoticed.

It wasn't uncommon for the girl to get twenty minutes from home thinking she was alone then glance behind her and see an officer 'secretly' following her on her father's instruction.

Luckily this time she paid close enough attention to her family's schedules and picked an opportune moment to slip from her bedroom and into the world below.

Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she could barely hear herself think. When she was a block from the train station her nerves began to get the best of her and she began to imagine things.

She saw a woman walking in the opposite direction on the sidewalk across the street and feared for a moment that it was her mother.

The girl could feel the color draining from her face as she mentally beat herself up for underestimating the time it would take her mother to finish up her mountain of paperwork and come outside to walk the family dogs.

She could hear Riza's usual lecture about safety rattling around in the back of her skull and could picture her two older brothers snickering as they watched her get scolded and possibly grounded for life. Why did her parents have to be so controlling? For all they knew she was just out for a late night stroll!

While the teen was lost in her thoughts, she paused to look at the woman who noticed and stared back at her. It was not her mother, just a woman with blonde hair in a pony tail who happened to be walking a couple of dogs. They stood like this for a few moments. Both females staring into one and other's eyes as best they could from that distance. It wasn't long before the teen realized her mistake and flicked her hood back down over her eyes. She was a mixture of embarrassed and paranoid.

"Are you okay, miss?" the woman across the street called once there was a lull in traffic. She didn't seem to recognize the girl so she wasn't alarmed when the teen didn't answer her. The teen simply turned and in the blink of an eye she was bolting down the sidewalk toward the train station, not daring to look back.

"I'm such a moron! Why would I think that random lady was mom!? Mom never brings the dogs up this way! there aren't even any parks!" she lectured herself in a whisper as she ran. Cold droplets of rain beginning to fall and whip against her face. She was the spitting image of her father. A dead give away for anyone who knew his face. With a gentle tug she held the brim of her hood over her eyes, careful not to make eye contact with anymore strangers.

She didn't dare slow her stride until she was through the doors of the train station and at the booth ready to begin her journey.

She purchased the ticket with her real first name 'Ruby' but altered her documents to change her last name from Mustang to Mountain. The man working the ticket booth must have been drunk, tried, blind or all three as the girl's plan went off without a hitch. He didn't even ask her to lift her hood to show herself against the picture. Lucky for her since it was actually a photo she borrowed from her slightly younger friend Mildred.

In half an hour, Ruby was aboard the final train southbound out of Central. There were less people getting off and on than there were during the day so the girl was able to slip on without being spotted. She was even able to snag her own sitting area, rows away from any other passengers.

Ruby didn't know where she was going, but she knew it would be way more fun than staying home. Her plan was to get off the train at whatever stop looked the most interesting. She had enough pocket money to pay for a lodging and food just about anywhere and although she brought only one bag and packed light, she was prepared to buy clothing for whatever climate met her along the way.

As the train rolled out of the station, Ruby looked out the window and watched as the sights beyond the glass went from familiar to brand new. She was scared but thrilled, lonely but content in that loneliness. For a few moments she thought about her parents. Would they notice she was gone? would they care?

She was four days from sixteen and ever since her fifteenth birthday Ruby's relationship with them felt strained. Roy wouldn't even let her look at boys, he was strict about curfew and hated every outfit Ruby picked out for herself. Riza was always tried and disappointed in her. Suddenly being uninterested wasn't an excuse for poor grades and she was expected to start helping out around the house?

Why couldn't they accept that she wasn't the same anymore? Ruby wasn't the same little girl who climbed the drawers on her father's desk just to reach his lap for a cuddle. She wasn't the same girl who presented her mother with beautiful pictures she drew in crayons or flower crown she wove by hand. She was becoming a woman! This was their fault for not realizing it!

But if Ruby felt so justified, why were tears stinging her still cold cheeks? Why did her heart feel like it was being torn in five places?

It wasn't long before she used the sleeve of her grey coat to wipe her tears. Her eye makeup stained the sleeve and while she looked at the stain her other hand ventured down and grasped the edge of the seat she sat on.

This was for the best. The only way she was going to grow was to get out of their clutches for awhile... Right?

While the girl struggled with her thoughts, she didn't notice how heavy her eyelids started to become. Before long her tears and the motion of the train swept her into a deep and peaceful sleep. The girl was far from home but somehow still had the dream she loved the most. A memory of a time her family spent together before everything changed. A picnic in the countryside, just the five of them.


End file.
